Gary Rand II named principal of St. Thomas Aquinas School in Hampden

Gary Rand II has been named principal of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Hampden, the Archdiocese of Baltimore confirmed Tuesday.

His predecessor at St. Thomas Aquinas, Sister Marie Rose Gustatus, was principal for 32 years and has been a School Sister of Notre Dame for 50 years. She retired earlier this month.

Rand, 37, of Frederick, is already at St. Thomas, where school starts Aug. 27. He previously served as principal of St. Andrew's Catholic School in Silver Spring for one year and as principal of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer School in Rosedale for two years.

"I was looking for the opportunity to come back to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. This school had that opportunity. I feel blessed and I'm looking forward to it," he said.

Rand comes back to a changed landscape, because the archdiocese closed 13 of its 64 schools in 2010 in a cost-cutting consolidation.

But Rand is undaunted.

"Catholic education really stands for something, and I want to be a part of that in my career," he said.